Harry awoke to an early start Sunday morning. He was back at the
Dursley's yet again. He had had a terrible nightmare about an event that
had only taken place weeks before. The nightmare was about the night Sirius
died. The night he did not want to visit again, but unfortunately he had no
choice. He had the uncanny ability to go back and visit terrible memories
just like any other human being. Last year, he had had dreams of long dark
corridors with locked doors at the end. Eventually, those dreams progressed
into him being able to open the door and walk in to the Department of
Mysteries. He had found out he was sharing thoughts with Voldemort. He had
already known he could tell what Voldemort was feeling. He tried Oclumency,
which was to try and close his mind to Voldemort, but he could not do it.
He woke up with cold sweat dripping from him. His bed was damp. He decided to get up and write a letter to Ron, his best friend. His other friend was Hermione Granger. Hedwig was still out for her evening prowl, which was surprising since she was usually back by now. But, suddenly, she flew up to the window. Harry walked over and opened the window so that Hedwig could come in. She flew into her cage and sat there staring intently at Harry.
"I'm going to have a letter for you in just a minute," Harry whispered.
Hedwig hooted softly. Harry walked over to his bed, bent down and opened a loose floorboard where he found a quill and some parchment. He sat on his bed and started writing.
Dear Ron,
I can't stop thinking about that night. I had a nightmare about it last night. I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts. How are Fred and George doing? Well, I suppose. Write again soon.
Harry
Harry rolled up the parchment, and slowly walked up to Hedwig. He took her out of the cage gently and tied the letter to her leg. She nipped at him affectionately.
"It's for Ron," he told her.
She flew out the open window and into the sky. It was starting to get lighter outside. He watched her until he could see her no more. His birthday was the next day. He was not expecting anything from the Dursley's. He knew he would probably get chocolate frogs from Ron. Hermione would probably send me a book or something, maybe I'll even get a little something from Fred and George's joke shop, he thought hopefully. He knew he would get some homemade food from Hagrid, something hard as rock.
He could now hear movement coming from downstairs. He decided to go down to eat breakfast. Ever since Mad Eye Moody made the threat towards the Dursley's, they had been nice to him. He no longer had to cook breakfast and do most of the chores. He was fed nicely, and treated like a human being instead of a dirt rag. Harry was quite pleased. He wasn't sure why he still didn't expect anything from them for his birthday.
As he went downstairs he heard the local news broadcast. He was allowed to watch the news now, too. Relief swept over him. There was nothing big happening that would appear odd to anyone. Harry had been watching the news everyday to see if there was anything to be worried about in the wizarding world. The backfiring toilets and finger biting doorknobs were not on the news anymore, since the Ministry of Magic caught the wizard responsible for the pranks. Then, just as soon as the relief came, it went. There had been a mass killing in London late last night. The one believed responsible was a death eater. Harry recognized the picture. It was McNaire. Harry's head raced. He must have broken out of Azkaban. That would mean Lucios Malfoy and the others escaped, too. I shouldn't have sent that letter so early! I could've asked Ron about it, he thought.
His scar began to sear with pain.
"Voldemort was feeling angry, extremely angry. He must have just gotten word that they escaped without success. They ran into trouble. They found themselves face to face with three Aurors. They killed one of the Aurors. The others who were killed were five by standing muggles. He didn't want them to have to strike out so soon," Harry found himself saying aloud. He was amazed at what he found himself saying. He had done this in the presence of Ron a couple of times last year; knowing what was going on with Voldemort.
He ran back up the stairs, ran into his room and slammed the door. He walked over to a corner, and slid down to the ground clutching his aching forehead with his left hand. He sat there for quite a while thinking about who that Auror could have been, and if he knew them. He began to realize he was hungry and tried going back downstairs again.
When he got down there Aunt Petunia was doing the dishes from breakfast. She glared at him as soon as he got downstairs, but in a flash the glare was gone and replaced with a fake smile. "Good morning," she said in a sickly sweet way, "would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes, just cereal," Harry mumbled.
"Well, I suppose you can get that yourself, can't you?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry said again.
When Harry got finished eating, he went into the living room because the news was on again. They showed pictures of the people who had been killed. The first five were the muggles. Then Harry saw who the Auror was. He didn't know the Auror thankfully. Harry was happy that none of his friends had died.
"Petunia, come here!" shouted Uncle Vernon, who obviously had just found out about the killings.
"Yes dear?" called Aunt Petunia.
"Look! There has been a mass killing!" he said, then turned to Harry. "That one there, the last one; by the looks of him, he was one of your lot! Did you know him?" he asked.
"That is none of your buisness, who I know or don't know," Harry shot.
"I asked you a question boy, and you are going to answer me!" shouted Uncle Vernon.
"NO! NO! I didn't know them! Now if you will excuse me, I would like to be alone!" Harry yelled.
He ran back up the stairs. From his room he could hear Aunt Petunia sobbing. One of the muggles was her dear freind Charlette Homes. For the second time, Voldemort had killed someone she had known.
Dudley was watching cartoons. Harry could tell because he could hear squeaky little voices and Duddley's stupid laughing.
Harry fell onto his bed and closed his eyes.
He woke up the next morning. He had fallen asleep and slept the rest of the day and through the night. He had woken up early again. Today was his birthday. Now he is sixteen.
Hedwig was at the window with several other owls. He missed the exotic birds that he used to get from Sirius. Each bird had a parcel bound to its leg. He slowly walked to the window and carefully opened it. Hedwig flew in first followed by the rest who had been waiting impatiently. He opened the letter Hedwig had first.
Dear Harry, Fred and George are doing great. The mass killing has dad all tied up at work. Of course that means mom has been frantic. It really scared me, I was worried for Tonks. This means You-Know-Who has his best supporters back to aid him. Anyway, Happy Birthday! I think you'll really like the gift.
-Ron Harry opened the package and found it overflowing with chocolate frogs, and underneath them he saw a dart board that had Snape's head on the center of it along with a pack of red darts. There were also a couple more notes that were hastily folded and carelessly shoved in. Harry pulled one out and opened it.
Dear Harry, Some of those chocolate frogs are from me, Ginny. Happy Birthday! See you soon. Mum says hi.
-Ginny The next note was from Ron. He could tell by the handwriting.
Dear Harry, The dart set is from Fred and George's joke shop. There are many different sets with different images on them. I thought you would enjoy this one best, though he shouts an insult with every hit.
-Ron
Harry laughed and set it aside. The next owl was from Fred and George. Their present was some of their famous Skiving Snackboxes including Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougat.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! We still can't thank you enough, and we will pay you back as soon as we can. Hope you put those snack boxes to good use. We know what Ron got you for your birthday. That is our newest product.
-Fred & George
"Cool" Harry thought. The next owl was from Hagrid. The present was not what Harry had expected. It was poorly wrapped and inside was Harry's firebolt along with an odd picture frame and a piece of parchment. Then, Harry recognized the photo in the frame. I was Hagrid and his dad, the photo he had shown him in his fourth year. Harry knew that he picture meant a lot to Hagrid and was curious to why he sent it to him so he read the letter.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! I thought ya might like your broom back since ya didn't get around to it last year with the chaos n' all. I wanted to give ya this picture of me and my dad. It means a lot to me so I decided to give it to ya for yer birthday. I care for ya Harry. This way you'll always remember me after yer outa Hogwarts. The picture frame I had from my days at Hogwarts. Can't wait to see ya again!
- Hagrid Harry could not believe it. Hagrid treasured this more than anything. He took it and wrapped it in some of his robes and put them in his trunk.
The next letter didn't come by an owl, but came by a cat. Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, was sitting beside the window with a letter tied around his neck. Harry united the violet ribbon and read the letter.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! I decided not to give you another assignment book because neither you, nor Ron, ever used them. I hope you like you gift this year. Krum and I see each other a lot and he helped me with the present.
- Hermione Harry opened the gift that was wrapped in violet paper to match the ribbon. Inside were some personal Quidditch tips from Krum and a picture of the team with every player's signature. Harry smiled and couldn't stop smiling. This was the best birthday he had ever had. All of the presents were great, and the Dursleys were treating him better. He wondered what time it was. He looked at the clock that he had in his room. It used to be Dudley's, but he now had a more complex one. Harry still got second hand things from Dudley, in fact, he got more now. The Dursleys used to throw away things Dudley didn't want anymore if they were still in good condition. They didn't want Harry to have anything in his possession that had any real value. The time was now 6:17. Harry went and lifted up the floorboards where he kept the stuff that he received for his birthday each year along with his homework he had over the summer. He shoved in the gifts and the set the boards back in place, and then crawled back into bed. He was tired now. Harry was going to write back to everyone later.
He woke up with cold sweat dripping from him. His bed was damp. He decided to get up and write a letter to Ron, his best friend. His other friend was Hermione Granger. Hedwig was still out for her evening prowl, which was surprising since she was usually back by now. But, suddenly, she flew up to the window. Harry walked over and opened the window so that Hedwig could come in. She flew into her cage and sat there staring intently at Harry.
"I'm going to have a letter for you in just a minute," Harry whispered.
Hedwig hooted softly. Harry walked over to his bed, bent down and opened a loose floorboard where he found a quill and some parchment. He sat on his bed and started writing.
Dear Ron,
I can't stop thinking about that night. I had a nightmare about it last night. I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts. How are Fred and George doing? Well, I suppose. Write again soon.
Harry
Harry rolled up the parchment, and slowly walked up to Hedwig. He took her out of the cage gently and tied the letter to her leg. She nipped at him affectionately.
"It's for Ron," he told her.
She flew out the open window and into the sky. It was starting to get lighter outside. He watched her until he could see her no more. His birthday was the next day. He was not expecting anything from the Dursley's. He knew he would probably get chocolate frogs from Ron. Hermione would probably send me a book or something, maybe I'll even get a little something from Fred and George's joke shop, he thought hopefully. He knew he would get some homemade food from Hagrid, something hard as rock.
He could now hear movement coming from downstairs. He decided to go down to eat breakfast. Ever since Mad Eye Moody made the threat towards the Dursley's, they had been nice to him. He no longer had to cook breakfast and do most of the chores. He was fed nicely, and treated like a human being instead of a dirt rag. Harry was quite pleased. He wasn't sure why he still didn't expect anything from them for his birthday.
As he went downstairs he heard the local news broadcast. He was allowed to watch the news now, too. Relief swept over him. There was nothing big happening that would appear odd to anyone. Harry had been watching the news everyday to see if there was anything to be worried about in the wizarding world. The backfiring toilets and finger biting doorknobs were not on the news anymore, since the Ministry of Magic caught the wizard responsible for the pranks. Then, just as soon as the relief came, it went. There had been a mass killing in London late last night. The one believed responsible was a death eater. Harry recognized the picture. It was McNaire. Harry's head raced. He must have broken out of Azkaban. That would mean Lucios Malfoy and the others escaped, too. I shouldn't have sent that letter so early! I could've asked Ron about it, he thought.
His scar began to sear with pain.
"Voldemort was feeling angry, extremely angry. He must have just gotten word that they escaped without success. They ran into trouble. They found themselves face to face with three Aurors. They killed one of the Aurors. The others who were killed were five by standing muggles. He didn't want them to have to strike out so soon," Harry found himself saying aloud. He was amazed at what he found himself saying. He had done this in the presence of Ron a couple of times last year; knowing what was going on with Voldemort.
He ran back up the stairs, ran into his room and slammed the door. He walked over to a corner, and slid down to the ground clutching his aching forehead with his left hand. He sat there for quite a while thinking about who that Auror could have been, and if he knew them. He began to realize he was hungry and tried going back downstairs again.
When he got down there Aunt Petunia was doing the dishes from breakfast. She glared at him as soon as he got downstairs, but in a flash the glare was gone and replaced with a fake smile. "Good morning," she said in a sickly sweet way, "would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes, just cereal," Harry mumbled.
"Well, I suppose you can get that yourself, can't you?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry said again.
When Harry got finished eating, he went into the living room because the news was on again. They showed pictures of the people who had been killed. The first five were the muggles. Then Harry saw who the Auror was. He didn't know the Auror thankfully. Harry was happy that none of his friends had died.
"Petunia, come here!" shouted Uncle Vernon, who obviously had just found out about the killings.
"Yes dear?" called Aunt Petunia.
"Look! There has been a mass killing!" he said, then turned to Harry. "That one there, the last one; by the looks of him, he was one of your lot! Did you know him?" he asked.
"That is none of your buisness, who I know or don't know," Harry shot.
"I asked you a question boy, and you are going to answer me!" shouted Uncle Vernon.
"NO! NO! I didn't know them! Now if you will excuse me, I would like to be alone!" Harry yelled.
He ran back up the stairs. From his room he could hear Aunt Petunia sobbing. One of the muggles was her dear freind Charlette Homes. For the second time, Voldemort had killed someone she had known.
Dudley was watching cartoons. Harry could tell because he could hear squeaky little voices and Duddley's stupid laughing.
Harry fell onto his bed and closed his eyes.
He woke up the next morning. He had fallen asleep and slept the rest of the day and through the night. He had woken up early again. Today was his birthday. Now he is sixteen.
Hedwig was at the window with several other owls. He missed the exotic birds that he used to get from Sirius. Each bird had a parcel bound to its leg. He slowly walked to the window and carefully opened it. Hedwig flew in first followed by the rest who had been waiting impatiently. He opened the letter Hedwig had first.
Dear Harry, Fred and George are doing great. The mass killing has dad all tied up at work. Of course that means mom has been frantic. It really scared me, I was worried for Tonks. This means You-Know-Who has his best supporters back to aid him. Anyway, Happy Birthday! I think you'll really like the gift.
-Ron Harry opened the package and found it overflowing with chocolate frogs, and underneath them he saw a dart board that had Snape's head on the center of it along with a pack of red darts. There were also a couple more notes that were hastily folded and carelessly shoved in. Harry pulled one out and opened it.
Dear Harry, Some of those chocolate frogs are from me, Ginny. Happy Birthday! See you soon. Mum says hi.
-Ginny The next note was from Ron. He could tell by the handwriting.
Dear Harry, The dart set is from Fred and George's joke shop. There are many different sets with different images on them. I thought you would enjoy this one best, though he shouts an insult with every hit.
-Ron
Harry laughed and set it aside. The next owl was from Fred and George. Their present was some of their famous Skiving Snackboxes including Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougat.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! We still can't thank you enough, and we will pay you back as soon as we can. Hope you put those snack boxes to good use. We know what Ron got you for your birthday. That is our newest product.
-Fred & George
"Cool" Harry thought. The next owl was from Hagrid. The present was not what Harry had expected. It was poorly wrapped and inside was Harry's firebolt along with an odd picture frame and a piece of parchment. Then, Harry recognized the photo in the frame. I was Hagrid and his dad, the photo he had shown him in his fourth year. Harry knew that he picture meant a lot to Hagrid and was curious to why he sent it to him so he read the letter.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! I thought ya might like your broom back since ya didn't get around to it last year with the chaos n' all. I wanted to give ya this picture of me and my dad. It means a lot to me so I decided to give it to ya for yer birthday. I care for ya Harry. This way you'll always remember me after yer outa Hogwarts. The picture frame I had from my days at Hogwarts. Can't wait to see ya again!
- Hagrid Harry could not believe it. Hagrid treasured this more than anything. He took it and wrapped it in some of his robes and put them in his trunk.
The next letter didn't come by an owl, but came by a cat. Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, was sitting beside the window with a letter tied around his neck. Harry united the violet ribbon and read the letter.
Dear Harry, Happy Birthday! I decided not to give you another assignment book because neither you, nor Ron, ever used them. I hope you like you gift this year. Krum and I see each other a lot and he helped me with the present.
- Hermione Harry opened the gift that was wrapped in violet paper to match the ribbon. Inside were some personal Quidditch tips from Krum and a picture of the team with every player's signature. Harry smiled and couldn't stop smiling. This was the best birthday he had ever had. All of the presents were great, and the Dursleys were treating him better. He wondered what time it was. He looked at the clock that he had in his room. It used to be Dudley's, but he now had a more complex one. Harry still got second hand things from Dudley, in fact, he got more now. The Dursleys used to throw away things Dudley didn't want anymore if they were still in good condition. They didn't want Harry to have anything in his possession that had any real value. The time was now 6:17. Harry went and lifted up the floorboards where he kept the stuff that he received for his birthday each year along with his homework he had over the summer. He shoved in the gifts and the set the boards back in place, and then crawled back into bed. He was tired now. Harry was going to write back to everyone later.